Growing up in the South Australian country towns of Minlaton and Kadina, d'Arcy finished his schooling back in Adelaide, where he studied teaching.

Just weeks before he finished his degree, d'Arcy was scooped up in a quest to place more teachers in rural areas and took up a position at Oak Valley, near Woomera, in outback South Australia.

"Really it gave me a great passport for travelling and learning," d'Arcy recalled.

It also gave him a sold grounding for the role he now undertakes, teaching impoverished residents how to improve their lives.

"I've taught in probably 25 countries around the world."

Sitting on the Esplanade of Brighton beach, d'Arcy talks about overseas missions to help local residents eradicate extreme poverty, improve health conditions and provide for those who do not have enough to provide for their basic needs in life.

Chatting as he sits on a beachside bench in one of Adelaide's more affluent locations, it's an irony that sits okay with d'Arcy.

d'Arcy happily lives life as a minimalist and no longer judges those who enjoy the more extravagant offerings of society.

"I don't really play the blame game because we all base our way of life and what we do on our experiences and I have been extremely fortunate and privileged to experience all of these different countries and learn from people in those situations.

"We have access and opportunity in a country like Australia, and this is what I want to see, access and opportunity for everyone in the world ... to the basic things in life."

The people who have the least give the most

d'Arcy's first experience overseas was in Kyrgystan, an inland country bordered with Kazakhstan, China, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

He originally travelled there to enjoy the countryside and trek through some of the mountain ranges, but it wasn't long before he found himself volunteering to teach English in local schools.

As he began to help local teachers, he began to learn more about the cultural and economic differences of the area.

"Their salary was US$20 per month, which meant that they were living on less than one dollar per day and it meant that they were living in extreme poverty."

With so little to their name, d'Arcy was astonished by how generous the people were.

"These were incredibly resilient, resourceful, well-educated women who had enough in life but didn't have any assurances.

"If it was a bad year for the crops, they would go hungry; if they got sick, they would have to chose between eating less in one day to save up to get the medication they might need for their illness."

d'Arcy said the experience was not one of sorrow and pain, but more of learning what was important in life.

Working for a year in Ethiopia with Australian Volunteers International, d'Arcy said he often saw the most amazing examples of humanity from the people he would least expect it from.

"People who don't have enough to eat but are willing to share what little they do have.

"It's quite a lump in the throat [moment] when people do that and show that level of hospitality."

From working in some of the most poverty-stricken areas of the world, d'Arcy conveys nothing but inspiration for what he has seen.

"I can only be optimistic and positive about human beings and mankind, because I have received hospitality from absolutely everyone everywhere."

A new kind of aid

d'Arcy said the world of aid was changing.

A recent AusAid report investigated aid effectiveness, how money is disseminated and which ways turn out to be more beneficial.

The changing face of aid was why he had become involved in Rotary International's campaign to stop the transmission of polio, and will soon travel to Atlanta to receive training before once more travelling overseas.

The campaign that provides access to local immunisation clinics, staffed by local people, and is supported by the World Health Organisation and UNICEF.

"Once people have access to those basic things in life, then that is where we jump off and it is up to countries to decide for themselves how they want to develop beyond that point."

d'Arcy is also a participant with The Global Poverty Project which attempts to provide access and opportunity to people around the world and a means of improving their quality of life.

The way people are displaying their advocacy is also changing, and d'Arcy believes people are becoming very well educated about which charity or aid agency they will support, how much money they will contribute and how the funds will be used.

Part of the education many will soon embark on is the Oak Tree Foundation's 'Live Below the Line', challenging participants to experience the conditions people with extreme poverty face daily, by surviving on a $2 per day food allowance.

"I think it's the biggest insight you can have into a developing country, without going to one.

"It's not about feeling sorry for poor people; it's about getting the perceptions, ideas and perspectives of people who live in extreme poverty."

d'Arcy's perfect world

Surprisingly, when asked if he could run the world for a day what would he change, d'Arcy's answer was quite simple.

"For me, it's about meeting in the middle."

He would like to see a world where people of all walks of life would have food and accommodation security.

"It's about not limiting richness, but showing the appreciation that we have when you have less."

In a world that is constantly facing tipping points of food productivity against obesity and extreme poverty against record profiteering, it's a dream that may never be reached, but desperately needs to exist.

"Somewhere where we have an appreciation of the people around us and the places and nature; where just enough is plenty."